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District 87 Adopts $2M Deficit Budget; No Job Cuts Or Tax Hikes Planned

District 87 headquarters
Eric Stock
/
WGLT
District 87's school board has approved a budget that projects a $2 million shortfall.

District 87 plans to use cash reserves to help fill a projected $2 million deficit. The school board approved the $65.6 million spending plan Wednesday night.
Superintendent Barry Reilly said the district will likely be able to trim that deficit as the year goes on, but maybe not as much as they have in years past.

“However, I will tell you in the last few cycles, we are starting to sharpen those pencils early and so that’s probably a truer representation of what we expect in the end, minus any unforeseen additional revenues that we didn’t anticipate,” Reilly said.

Reilly said the district still has healthy cash reserves of about $10 million, so it doesn't plan any staff reductions or property tax increases.

“That’s our goal, to keep that where it’s at,” Reilly said. “If we can lower (the tax rate) we certainly will, but I expect that will be right where it’s at for the foreseeable future.”

District 87 is projecting a $632,000 increase in revenue from the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax and a $81,000 rise in funding from the state’s Tier Two Evidence-Based Funding formula. The district is expecting a $100,000 drop in interest earnings, due to interest rates dropping on certificates of deposit.

The district also anticipates a drop in taxable land values for the third year in a row. The school board will set the 2020 tax levy later this year.

Henry Returns

Kiasha Henry
Credit District 87
Kiasha Henry previously served on the District 87 school board from 2016-2017.

The district has also sworn in a new board member, Kiasha Henry. She rejoined the board on Wednesday, replacing Mary Yount, who announced her retirement from the board in August, citing family reasons.

Henry served on the school board previously from February 2016 to April 2017. She will fill the remaining two years of the term. 

Reilly said Henry was chosen from among three applicants.

“She’s a prime example of wanting to serve, do good for kids, be a good steward of the tax dollars for the community,” Reilly said.

Henry retired from the U.S. Postal Service this year. She been involved in several community organizations, including Charm Inc. which she co-founded, JusticeCorps, Heartland Head Start, Children’s Discovery Museum, and the Bloomington Cultural Commission.

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Eric Stock is the News Director at WGLT. You can contact Eric at ejstoc1@ilstu.edu.